Saturday, November 9
Los Angeles, CA
10:30 AM

UCLA

vs

USC

Alex Wolf
Senior Alex Wolf will be playing in his final game at Spieker Aquatics Center against USC.
Photo by: Minette Rubin

No. 1 UCLA Hosts No. 4 USC Saturday on Senior Day

November 06, 2019 | Men's Water Polo

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LOS ANGELES โ€“ No. 2 UCLA (16-1, 1-0ย MPSF) hosts No. 4 USC (11-4, 1-0ย MPSF) on Saturday, Nov. 9 at 10:30 a.m. PT at Dirks Pool at Spiekerย Aquatics Center on Senior Day. The game will be televised live on the Pac-12 Networks with Anne Marie Anderson and Tony Azevedoย on the call. The Trojans are coming off their best week of the season, which included a 9-8 upset win over then-No. 1 Stanford (Nov. 2) and a 17-9 win over No. 12 San Jose State (Nov. 3).

SCHEDULE AT A GLANCE
Saturday, November 9 (UCLA Spieker Aquatics Center)
10:30 AM PT โ€“ No. 1 UCLA vs. No. 4 USC (LIVE STATS) (PAC-12 NETWORKS)

Saturday, November 16 (UCLA Spieker Aquatics Center)
12:00 PM PT โ€“ No. 1 UCLA at No. 2 Stanford (LIVE STATS)

SERIES HISTORY
This is the 171st meeting all-time between UCLA and USC with the Bruins holding an 87-82-1 lead in the series. This is the first meeting of the 2019 season between the two teams. Last year the Bruins dropped two of three to the Trojans, both losses coming by one goal. The Bruins lost the MPSFย contest at USC to end the regular season, 12-11, on Nov. 10. Then UCLA defeated USC 7-4 in the third-place game of the MPSFย Championship at USC on Nov. 18. The Bruins fell to the eventual NCAA Champions in the semifinals at Stanford, 8-7, on Dec. 1.

RECAPPING LAST WEEK
No. 2 UCLA (16-1, 1-0 MPSF) rallied from three goals down at the start of the fourth quarter to win its league-opener over visiting No. 8 California (10-8, 0-1), 10-9, on Nov. 2 at Dirks Pool at Spieker Aquatics Center. With the victory, the Bruins improved to 89-68-1 all-time against California.ย The Bruins were led by sophomoreย Ashworth Molthenย and juniorsย Chasen Travisanoย andย Felix Brozyna-Vilim, each with two goals.ย Redshirt seniorย Alex Wolfย played the entire game in the cage, registering 12 saves while allowing nine goals.

SUDDEN IMPACT
UCLA has 15 freshmen on its 2019 roster and 12 of them have contributed major minutes this year. Taking into account the players the Bruins have have lost for the season, UCLA's roster currently sports 12-of-19 (63.2%) student-athletes in the rotation playing in their first college season. Junior Levon Gukasyan is a junior college transfer and he makes it 13-of-19 players (68.4%) playing in their first USC/UCLA rivalry game this weekend/

Additionally, on the year, the freshman class has scored the most goals (89-of-228) for 39.0 percent. The sophomores have scored 84 goals (36.8%), followed by the juniors with 55 goals (24.2%). The underclassmen (freshmen and sophomores) have combined to score 75.9 percent of the goals on the year (173-of-228). Entering the week, the senior class has only consisted of goalkeeper Alex Wolf. James Vlachonassiosย has returned to the roster this week, giving the Bruins two seniors to be honored on "Senior Day."

FRESH FACES
UCLA welcomed in 10 true freshmen for the 2019 season that have joined six redshirt freshmen on the 29-man roster, comprising a total of 16 freshmen (or 55.2 percent of the team). The team also includes seven sophomores, five juniors and one senior (13 student-athletes in those three classes combined). Of the 16 freshmen on the roster, 13 of them have earned a cap and will be competing for playing time in 2019 with three of them (Giorgio Alessandria, Chase Honaker and Jack Larsen) slated to redshirt the season. Here's a look at the 13 freshmen that have earned a cap number and will be looking to make an immediate impact for the Bruins.
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2 Will Morgan ATK 6-1 R-Fr. Pebble Beach, Calif. / Stevenson School
9 Brock Petersen ATK 6-2 R-Fr. Dana Point, Calif. / Santa Margarita Catholic HS
10 Ryan Sawyer ATK 6-1 R-Fr. Palm Desert, Calif. / Palm Desert HS
18 Henry Wilde ATK 6-3 R-Fr. Newport Beach, Calif. / Corona del Mar HS
20 Tega Cheishvili DEF 6-2 R-Fr. Tbilisi, Georgia / Tbilisi American High School
25 Chase Petersen DEF 6-1 R-Fr. Dana Point, Calif. / Santa Margarita Catholic HS
1A Bernardo Maurizi GK 6-2 Fr. Florence, Italy / Salesiani Firenze
3 Gabe Discipulo CTR 6-3 Fr. Santa Cruz, Calif. / Bellarmine College Preparatory
6 Andy Rodgers ATK 6-2 Fr. Coronado, Calif. / Coronado HS
7 Jack White ATK 6-1 Fr. Newport Beach, Calif. / Newport Harbor HS
8 Cameron Reagan DEF/UTL 6-2 Fr. Huntington Beach, Calif. / Mater Dei HS
14 Max Berg ATK 5-10 Fr. Seal Beach, Calif. / Long Beach Wilson HS
24 Tommy Gruwell ATK 6-4 Fr. San Diego, Calif. / Cathedral Catholic HS

MPSF/KAP7 NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK (Oct. 21)
UCLA freshmanย Tommy Gruwellย (San Diego, Calif./Cathedral Catholic HS) was named the MPSF/KAP7 Newcomer of the Week today by the league office.ย For the second straight week,ย Gruwell did a little bit of everything to help No. 2 UCLA post a dominant win over a top-five team. He scored two goals and drew two exclusions while adding one steal in a 14-10 win over No. 3 Pacific (Oct. 18).ย He also had two assists and one steal in a 12-6 win over No. 20 California Baptist University (Oct. 19). He ended the week by scoring one goal and adding one steal and two field blocks in a 10-8 win over Whittier (Oct. 18). For the week, he tallied three goals, three steals, two assists, two field blocks, and two drawn exclusions.ย This is the second overall and second-consecutive career MPSF award for Gruwell..

MPSF/KAP7 PLAYER OF THE WEEK (Oct. 14)
Felix Brozyna-Vilim tallied a first-half hat trick on three shots to lift the Bruins to an 8-2 halftime lead and an eventual 15-11 win over No. 5 UC Santa Barbara (Oct. 11). The outcome marked the second win over top-five UCSB in a 13-day span. Brozyna-Vilim also drew an incredible six exclusions through the contest, three of which led to penalty shots.ย The three goals tied his season-high (also had three in a win at Navy in the opening weekend of the season) and marked his fifth multiple-goal game of the season and his second hat trick of the year (fifth of his career). The six drawn exclusions were a single-game best for him. Brozyna-Vilim leads the team in shooting percentage (.762, 16 goals on 21 shots) and in drawn exclusions (42).ย This is the first career MPSF weekly award for Brozyna-Vilim.

MPSF/KAP7 NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK (Oct. 14)
Tommy Gruwell did a little of everything to help the Bruins post the 15-11 win over No. 5 UCSBย as UCLA improved to 11-1 on the year. UCLA led wire-to-wire in defeating the Gauchos for the second time on its current nine-game homestand. Gruwell scored two goals on three shots and tallied two assists, two steals, one field block, and won a sprint. It marked his fourth multiple goal game of the year. Gruwell has scored at least one goal in each of his last eight games and in 11 of the 12 games on the year (tied for second-best on the team). He is second on the team in assists (11), third in goals (17) and field blocks (five) and fourth in shooting percentage (.586, 17 goals on 29 shots).ย This is the first career MPSF award for Gruwell.

MPSF/KAP7 PLAYER OF THE WEEK (Sept. 9)
Matthew Kacuraย (San Clemente, CA/Orange Lutheran HS) led the Bruins in scoring to kick-off a 4-0 start to the season at the Navy Open (Sept. 7-8). He scored a total of nine goals in four games, after scoring 13 goals in 28 games a year ago. He scored two goals on two shots with two steals in the win over No. 12 Princeton. He completed the tournament with a career and MPSF weekend-high-tying six goals on seven shots, along with one field block, in a win over La Salle. The six goals tied the most by a Bruin in two years (Max Irving-6; Sept. 24, 2017). For the week, he converted 81.8 percent of his shots (9-for-11), adding three steals, two field blocks, one assist and one drawn exclusion. This is Kacura's first career MPSF weekly award.

MPSF/KAP7 NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK (Sept. 9)
Bernardo Maurizi (Florence, Italy/Salesiani Firenze)ย helped the Bruins go 4-0 to kick-off the season at the Navy Open (Sept. 7-8). He racked up 40 saves (16.00 SPG), while recording a goals-against average of 4.00. Maurizi tallied 13 saves while allowing three goals in his debut vs. Fordham. He played the second half of the win over Navy, registering eight stops with five allowed. He then made a record-setting appearance in a win over La Salle, recording a UCLA freshman record 19 saves, while giving up just two scores. It marked the most saves by a Bruin in four years (Garrett Danner-21; Nov. 22, 2015), and was the most for a UCLA regulation game in a decade (Chay Lapin-21; Nov. 1, 2009). This is the first career MPSF award for Maurizi.

MAURIZI SETS UCLA FRESHMAN RECORD
Behind a record-setting performance from freshman goalkeeperย Bernardo Maurizi, No. 2 UCLA cruised to a 20-2 win over La Salle in the Bruins' final game of the Navy Open on Sept. 8ย at Lejeuneย Hall. This was the first-ever meeting between UCLA and the Explorers as the La Salle program is in its fourth year of existence.ย Maurizi set a UCLA freshman record with 19 saves playing the entire game in the cage for the Bruins. It marked the most saves sinceย Garrett Dannerย recorded 21 in a 12-11 overtime win over California in the MPSF Championship game on Nov. 22, 2015. It was also the most saves in a game ending in regulation since Chay Lapin registered 21 in a 9-3 win at Long Beach State on Nov. 1, 2009.

UCLA 100
UCLA is celebratingย its first 100 years with a year-long university-wide Centennial Celebration. UCLA Athletics has several Centennial Celebration plans and giveaways in store for designated home events, including a set of 13 Centennial Pins highlighting each sport, as well as a souvenir mosaic poster that features personal photos submitted by UCLA fans. UCLA's men's water polo team posted an 11-7 win over No. 8 Long Beach State on Oct. 4, 2019, UCLA's firstย Centennial game win after football, and men's and women's soccer, failed to post victories in their Centennial games.

UCLA IS NO. 1
For the third consecutive year UCLA has been selected as the No. 1 public institution in the nation in theย Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education College Rankings.ย In addition, of the more than 800 public and private institutions that were assessed, UCLA placed fifth among all public and private colleges in the area of environment, No. 11 overall in the engagement category, No. 16 in terms of outcomes, and No. 25 overall.ย The rankings focus on student success and learning in four key areas: student resources, student engagement, educational outcomes and learning environments. The results are based on data from the Times Higher Education U.S. Student Survey, which collected the opinions of more than 170,000 current university students, government data sources and findings from the Times Higher Education Academic Reputation Survey.

UCLA consistently performs well inย multiple rankingsย regardless of methodology or criteria. In 2018, UCLA was named the No. 1 U.S. public university in both the U.S. News & World Report'sย Best Collegesย ranking andย Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education survey. UCLA was also named the No. 2 U.S. public university (17 overall) by Times Higher Education in itsย 2019 World University Rankingsย and No. 2 (No. 9 overall) in itsย 2019 World Reputation Rankings.

COACH/STAFF CHANGES
During the offseason, UCLA men's water polo hired Bret Lathrope to the post ofย assistant coach (replacing Jack Grover) and has added Michael Hull to the post of Director of Operations for men's and women's water polo. These changes are following the 2017 promotion ofย Jason Falitzย to associate head coach.

THE WRIGHT STUFF
Adam Wright is in his 11th season as UCLA's head men's water polo coach in 2019 with an overall record of 266-43 (.861) and an MPSF mark of 53-14 (.791). His teams earned perfect APR (Academic Progress Rate) scores of 1,000 in 2014, 2015 and 2016 while winning the school's 112th, 113th and 114th NCAA Championships in 2014, 2015 and 2017. On July 20, 2017, UCLA Director of Athletics, Dan Guerrero, announced that Wrightย will guide both the UCLA men's and women's water polo teams. Wright was inducted into the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame on June 20, 2019.
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RECAPPING 2018
Overall Record: 23-5 |ย Final Ranking: 3rd | NCAA Finish: T-3rd |ย MPSFย Tournament Finish: 3rd

The Bruins finished the season with third-place finishes at both the MPSF and NCAA Championships. UCLA's team had a school-record 11 student-athletes earn MPSF All-Academic accolades, while eight Bruins also earned All-America acclaim (headlined by first-team selections Alex Wolf and Nicolas Saveljic). Evan Rosenfeld picked up second-team All-America honors, while freshman Jake Cavano was named a third-team honoree. Securing honorable mention All-America honors were freshmen Danny Roland and Ashworth Molthen, as well as senior David Stiling and sophomore Quinten Osborne. Bruins' head coach Adam Wright was also inducted into the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame.

POLLING THE BRUINS
UCLA, which finished third in the MPSF and NCAA Championships last year, is first in this week'sย CWPAย National Men's Varsity Top 20 Poll (97 points), released on Nov. 6. The Bruins had been ranked No. 2 in every weekly poll of the 2019 season, until today.
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ย 2019 MEN'S VARSITY TOP 20 (Week 9 - Nov. 6)

ย Rank ย Team ย Week Seven Poll ย Points
ย 1 ย UCLA ย 2 ย 97
ย 2 ย Stanford ย 1 ย 91
ย 3 ย Pacific ย 3 ย 90
ย 4 ย USC ย 7 ย 86
ย 5 ย UC Santa Barbara ย 4 ย 82
ย 6 ย Pepperdine ย 5 ย 77
ย 7 ย California ย 8 ย 69
ย 8 ย Long Beach State ย 6 ย 65
ย 9 ย Harvard ย 9 (T) ย 61
ย 10 ย UC San Diego ย 9 (T) ย 55
ย 11 ย UC Davis ย 11 ย 51
ย 12 ย Loyola Marymount ย 13 ย 44
ย 13 ย San José State ย 12 ย 40
ย 14 ย Bucknell ย 15 ย 32
ย 15 ย UC Irvine ย 14 ย 27
ย 16 (T) ย Cal Baptist ย 19 ย 20
ย 16 (T) ย Fordham ย 16 ย 20
ย 18 ย Brown ย RV ย 17
ย 19 ย George Washington ย RV ย 11
ย 20 ย Princeton ย 18 ย 10
ย RV ย St. Francis College Brooklyn ย 17 ย 6
ย RV ย Pomona-Pitzer ย 20 ย 4
ย RV ย Santa Clara ย RV ย 1
ย RV ย Whittier ย RV ย 1
ย RV ย Concordia ย NR ย 1

Players Mentioned

UTL
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ATK
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UTL
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ATK/UTL
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DEF
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GK
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CTR
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ATK
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ATK
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UTL
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GK
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ATK
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ATK
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ATK
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GK
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ATK
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ATK
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C
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ATK
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DEF
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DEF/UTL
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ATK
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GK
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UTL
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ATK
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ATK
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ATK
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ATK
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ATK/UTL
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ATK
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ATK
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GK
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